Those sales let me bite on the Lebron 17s.
Ranking the LeBron flyknit generation by categories:
Traction: 16, 17, 15. The 17's are sticking for me, but that deep herringbone on the 16 is beast. Fairly wide gap between those two and the 15. Not Jordan 31 terrible, just doesn't stick.
Cushion: 15, 16, 17. 15 most plush. 16 most balance. 17 is very soft and responsie like the 15 but I don't feel like there is a lot of cohesion between the segmented zoom pods and the c unit, feels disjointed. Even so, they will definitely be a part of my #SavetheKnees rotation.
Comfort: 16, 15, 17. I love the tongue on the 16 for accessibility. Reminds me of a pair of bellows. Perfect amount of pressure around my foot and feels premium when sliding them on. 15 sock comfort is a no brainer. 17 isn't bad but I really don't like the lace and tongue design. It doesn't get in the way of the comfort but it's very sloppy. The tongue is a bunched up mess and you're just pulling the two sides of knit over it to cover it up. In motion you have all these weird creases and gaps happening between the tongue and the upper.
Stability: 16, 17, 15. Wide gap between the 16 and the other two.
Lockdown: 17, 16, 15. I leave the top two rows on the 17 more loose than usual because it's too much otherwise. 16 initially had some heel slippage. Breakin and relacing helped that. Not a fan of how hard it is to crank the laces on the 16, not much give on the battleknit 2.0. 15 isn't nearly as sloppy as the KD 11, but it's still a sock upper.
I think 3 years is enough and it's time for a generational change. Would be nice to see the top dog of Nike Basketball lead the way but it was KD that started the flyknit max zoom era. And it's KD that has given us zoom strobel.